As any gambler can tell you, the road to casino riches is never straight or smooth.

Massachusetts is headed down that road now, as eight large gaming companies vie for three regional casino licenses. There are more twists and turns to come before the state makes its decisions early next year, as well as some collisions – between companies, between cities, and between neighbors.

In Springfield, Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts are campaigning for the hearts of citizens and the political establishment to determine which will be that city’s candidate for the Western Mass. License. The winner will compete against the Hard Rock in West Springfield and Mohegan Sun in Palmer.

A casino to be run by Caesars Entertainment at Suffolk Downs, long the favorite for the Eastern Massachusetts license, has hit some bumps in the road. A major investor pulled out over financial disclosure requirements, its chief political backer, Mayor Tom Menino, became a lame duck, and a poll found only half of residents support it. Suffolk Downs faces new competition from Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, who has a site in Everett that presents its own problems.

Then there’s the casino in Milford, in the works for years, which this week just about ran into the ditch.

David Nunes, a minor player with Massachusetts ties, had been sweet-talking Milford officials since 2009. Its prospects for winning the Eastern Mass. license brightened when Foxwoods, operators of the largest casino in North America, joined Nunes’ group of investors in February. But last week Nunes was unceremoniously dumped by his partners.

The coup against Nunes came days before a presentation Monday at Milford Town Hall. Casino opponents were out in force, dressed in red for “stop.” A contingent of supporters was on hand as well, dressed in bright yellow United Auto Workers T-shirts.

Selectmen had expected an update on the issues raised over the last three years with Nunes. They have questions about traffic, financing, schedules, designs, employment. Just about every town department had long ago submitted reports on the impact the casino would have on town services and the issues that must be addressed.

The new face of the project, Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera, showed up with little more than a new name – Foxwoods Massachusetts – and a smile.

Butera told selectmen he was shocked to find Nunes and his team had done almost nothing to plan for the project. He assured them that he was a turnaround specialist, that the financial crisis that came close to sinking Foxwoods had now been fixed, that he has an “army” of development specialists just down the road ready to jump on this project.

“I feel horrible that this board has been misled in the past,” Butera said. The three selectmen appeared unconvinced.

Page 2 of 3 - The practical hurdles Foxwoods faces are daunting. The site, on the north side of Rte. 495 near Rte. 16, works best if they can talk the state into building a new exit off the interstate. The Conservation Commission says there isn’t as much buildable acreage on the site as Nunes said. The casino will use up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day that the Milford Water Co. says it can’t provide. National Grid will have to move a major transmission line.

Foxwoods will also have to negotiate mitigation packages with six neighboring communities. Most of them - Upton, Mendon, Hopedale, Medway - will barely know the casino is there, unless they go there for jobs or entertainment. They’ll likely get mitigation checks from Foxwoods anyway.

Even Milford may feel little impact. The site is separated from Milford proper by the interstate and the Fortune Boulevard belt of hotels, big box stores and fast food joints, which will likely benefit from the casino’s spillover business.

Holliston and Hopkinton have the biggest beef with the project, and are making the loudest protests. Even so, the traffic impact might not be huge; Holliston in particular is not a place anyone goes through in order to get someplace else. Should they choose, both towns can engage in protective zoning to keep the casino riffraff and their spare dollars out of town. Or maybe they’ll use their mitigation checks from Foxwoods to build a moat.

The political hurdles facing the project are as tough as the practical ones. Two out of three selectmen will have to be convinced to sign a host community agreement. Two-thirds of Milford’s elected Town Meeting will have to approve changes to the zoning bylaw. If they get that far, residents would vote on it.

How they’d vote is hard to predict. Milford has always been more hospitable toward economic development than other communities in the region. Jobs – especially jobs that don’t require a college degree – are important to the blue-collar Milfordians who traditionally dominate town politics.

But Milford has a puritanical streak as well. When rumors of a strip club coming to town surfaced a few years ago, town officials fell all over themselves enacting a bylaw banning it. Milford just prohibited hookah bars, not that anyone had proposed one. It still doesn’t allow self-serve gas stations.

That campaign has yet to begin. Foxwoods plans to open a storefront on Main Street this week, like the presence Mohegan Sun has had in downtown Palmer for years. Foxwoods is planning a $1 billion investment in Milford, and it won’t skimp when it comes to investing in the affections of Milford residents. Stay tuned.